As the Canary Sings
by DragonRider122
Summary: It's appropriate that Dinah's life is defined by sound. -iPod challenge-


**DISCLAIMER: Don't own YJ.**

**Because I freaking love Black Canary and wish she was my den mother.**

* * *

**What Kind of Name is Hermione?—The Parselmouths**

"Hey, you'll never guess what Roy told me today!" Oliver sounded like he was going to explode from sheer excitement as he grabbed Dinah by the shoulders. She laughed and raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

"He has a daughter!"

"By Cheshire?" Dinah's eyes widened in shock, completely caught off guard.

"Yes! Her name is Lian. Isn't that a pretty name?"

"Lian?" Dinah wrinkled her nose. "What kind of name is that? It sounds like 'lion'."

Oliver pouted and crossed his arms. "_I_ think it's cute."

"You also liked 'Elvendork'," pointed out Dinah.

**Lucky Stars—Jimmy Buffett**

Dinah nuzzled closer to Oliver as his arms tightened around her. "That was fun."

"Your performance was as flawless as ever, darling," the archer smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Oliver, sometimes I think you just have me for the sex."

"What? Do you really?" Oliver sounded positively alarmed as he pulled back to search his lover's face. Dinah stared blankly at him, surprised that he'd taken her joke so seriously. Oliver apparently took her silence as an affirmative and held her close again. "Gods, Dinah, that's not it at all! I mean sure, it's awesome and all, but…you're so much more than that. You're amazing in every sense of the word. I love you, babe."

"Ollie, I was joking," Dinah gently said, not letting on how touched she was. "I know you love me."

"You better believe I do." Oliver nuzzled into her hair. "I'm lucky to have you, pretty bird."

**I Just Can't Wait to Be King—The Lion King**

"So how is it training a bunch of teenagers?" Oliver asked with a smirk, offering Dinah a can of beer. She accepted with a groan, rolling her shoulders and taking a long swig.

"Roy was bad enough. Dealing with six is just….god, where do I even start? Superboy has enough anger for the entire League combined and absolutely no sense of control. Wally relies too much on pure speed to carry him—stop that," Dinah growled as Oliver smirked at her unintentional pun. "Artemis is too distracted, although she's good, and M'Gann….where do I even start with her? She's a quick learner, but she's so scared of hurting me by accident she won't even try! Kaldur and Robin I have no complaints about, but the rest…" Dinah groaned and let her forehead bump against the tabletop.

"So….you have your work cut out for you," Oliver summarized unhelpfully, wincing as Dinah socked him in the arm.

**Look Through My Eyes—Phil Collins**

It was almost painful seeing the team in the aftermath of their failed exercise. For the most part, her attempts to help them had been unsuccessful, which was bad enough in itself, but seeing their reactions day to day just hurt.

Dinah was forced to confront this when she walked into the living room and saw M'Gann curled up on the couch quietly crying, her shoulders trembling with sobs. Dinah exhaled heavily as she walked over, sitting down and gently placing a hand on M'Gann's back. The girl didn't seem surprised; on the contrary, she threw her arms around Dinah and buried her face in the blonde's chest. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

"M'Gann, this is _not _your fault," Dinah said firmly, although her voice was exceedingly gentle as she cradled the Martian close. "In a way, it's a testament to your character. You care so deeply for your team that when you saw Artemis die, you reacted powerfully. I know it turned into a disaster, but in reality…I think what happened is a good thing. Traumatizing as it was, you learned to work together in the worst of situations. I'm proud of you."

M'Gann bit her lip but didn't say anything, and Dinah closed her eyes. "I know it's hard. But if you look through my eyes…you'll understand. You'll make a great League member one day, M'Gann. I promise. It's going to be okay."

A shiver ran through the girl's body, but she managed a tremulous smile. "Thank you."

**Behind These Hazel Eyes—Kelly Clarkson**

It bothered Dinah a little that M'Gann had managed to convincingly lie about so much for long—not just because she had done it in the first place, but because none of the team even suspected anything was wrong. As she stared up at the snow-white creature in front of her, Dinah honestly couldn't find any words. Fortunately, telepathy managed to share emotions as well as words, and she felt M'Gann relax as all of Dinah's emotions reached her—shock, sympathy and pain but no hatred. _M'Gann….I'm so…_

_It's okay. I didn't want anyone to know…but after the team found out I wanted to tell you too._ She looked down, arms folded over her chest. _I trust you more than anyone except my uncle—in the League, I mean_, she explained.

_I….thank you for showing me this. And it doesn't change my opinion of you_. Dinah stepped closer and set a hand on M'Gann's long forearm. The skin beneath her fingers was surprisingly warm.

M'Gann changed back to a humanoid form and hugged her.

**You Can't Take Me—Bryan Adams **

Black Canary had never been one to hold back on the battlefield. But seeing her kids threatened—that was an entirely different ballgame.

A sonic blast ripped from her mouth as she landed in front of Robin, Aqualad and Superboy, arms spread as if to shield them. Poison Ivy winced and staggered back, dropping to one knee. The plant-spears she had been about to throw withered and died.

"Don't you dare touch them," Canary snarled before springing like a mountain lion. The two women exchanged blows for a few minutes, but in the end the blond refused to be denied. She swept Ivy's legs off the pavement and followed with a brutal blow to the back of the head. As the villainess fainted, Black Canary turned to see the team all assembled, along with Green Arrow, Aquaman and Batman, and staring at her as if she were a mutant.

"What?" she challenged with a small smile. "I meant it. Nobody touches my kids."

She was promptly buried under a massive group hug from the teenagers.


End file.
